HAMILTON - The Ravalli County Sheriff's Office reports a man died in a Tuesday morning plane crash in Hamilton.
The pilot, who was the only person onboard the plane, was pronounced dead on the scene "due to the impact of the crash," a news release states.
Ravalli County Sheriff Steve Holton said the pilot is from the Hamilton area.
The plane reportedly crashed shortly after taking off from the Hamilton airport.
Holton said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified of the crash.
A member of the Victor Fire Department told MTN News the plane that crashed was a World War II vintage P-40 aircraft, one of 14 in the United States.
The following information is from the National Museum of the United States Air Force website:
"The P-40 was the United States' best fighter available in large numbers when World War II began. P-40s engaged Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines in December 1941. They also served with the famed Flying Tigers in China in 1942, and in North Africa in 1943 with the 99th Fighter Squadron, the first African American U.S. fighter unit."
